The Daily Stoic - Who Are You Studying Under?

Episode Date: October 8, 2021

Ryan explains the importance of studying great men and women who came before you, on today’s Daily Stoic Podcast.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email: http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us dailystealic.com. Who are you studying? It's interesting to think of the Stoics. From Marcus Aurelius to Zeno, reaching back through the centuries like links in a chain from Z to A as it happens. Marcus studied Epictetus's life, Epictetus studied Musonius Rufus's, Seneca studied Cato's, Cato studied Cato the Elder, his great-grandfather who happened to be in the

crowd when Stoicism was first introduced to Rome from Greece by Diogenies. Diogenies studied in Athens under Cricypus. Cricypus studied Clienthys and Clienthys studied Xeno and Xeno studied Socrates whom we might call the Godfather of the Stoics. Indeed the lives of each of these Stoics influenced the lives of the Stoics who came after them. Seneca would say that to study philosophy was to annex the past into our own time, that each of us needed to choose ourselves a Cato, someone to measure ourselves against, someone to inspire and call us to greatness. Several of the Stokes did just that, even writing biographies of their heroes,

though it's important to understand that this wasn't biography as we understand it today. Biographers of antiquity didn't care much about where Cato was born. It didn't matter fully whether Xeno washed up in Athens in the year 312 or 302 BC. It is not histories I am writing but lives, Plutarch would say. And in the most glorious deeds, there is not always an indication of virtue or vice. Indeed, a small thing like a phrase or a just often makes a greater revelation of character than the battles where thousands die. Oh, and as it happens, Plutarch's grandson would be one of Marcus Aurelius' philosophy teachers. These writers were interested in character as much as

accomplishment. To study philosophy, we do well to study philosophers, to have heroes whose lives we dissect and learn from. What did they do well? Where did they fall short? What were their tragic flaws? What was the source of their greatness? Forget obscure works, forget complicated texts, look at the deeds the Stoics would say. You know a philosopher by their fruits, by the way they applied these lessons in their own lives. And in this way, as one Stoic learns from the one that came before and before and before, we find that the chain of Xeno to Marcus was never broken and it does not need to end. Indeed, it continues on to

Montenia and then to George Washington two centuries later and then to Admiral Stockdale two centuries after that and now to you. That is if you continue to study, if you continue to look backwards to help yourself move forward. So that's our question for you today. Are you studying? And if so, who are you studying? And some very exciting news. My book, Lies of the Stoics, the art of living from Xenotomarxerilis, is on sale right now for $1.99

everywhere e-books are sold. Lies of the Stoics is modeled off Plutarchicotains. right now for a dollar 99 everywhere ebooks are sold. Lies of the Stokes is modeled off Plutarch. It contains 26 biographies of the most important Stokes from history. I'm really proud of it. It debuted at number one on the bestseller list. As far as I understand,

it's the only book that has all the Stokes in one place focusing on what they did, not just what they said. You can pick it up for $199 as an ebook. It's not gonna get cheaper than that. If you're looking for $199 as an ebook. It's not going to get cheaper than that. If you're looking for some great men and women to study, this is the book. It will never be cheaper than it is right now. Check it out on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, wherever you get your ebooks. Check that out. It's $199, but only for a couple days. So check out lives of the Stoics.

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